Australian special forces troops will be honoured for their involvement in one of the most significant battles of the Afghan War in Perth today.

On June 10, 2010, Sergeant Gary Robinson was in a sniper position in the valley around the insurgent stronghold of Chernatu.

By all accounts, Sergeant Robinson fired the first shot in what is likely to be remembered as the most significant battle of Australian forces in Afghanistan – the Battle of Shah Wali Kot.

The thing he remembers most about that day was the heat. It was 55 degrees Celsius. Others among the 100 commandos deployed that day remember the noise of the machine guns and the rockets.

All they could do was crawl into a position so they didn't die – the amount of time the guys said: 'I was digging a hole with my eyelids' articulates the environment they were in.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Burns

We already know a lot about the bravery of SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, who was awarded a Victoria Cross for his valour on that day. Twelve other individual citations were awarded, including a Star of Gallantry.

Now the whole Task Group is set to receive the first overarching battle honour awarded since the Vietnam War.

The Chief of Army will present the battle honour of Eastern Shah Wali Kot to the SAS today, while the Governor-General will present the battle honour to the 2nd Commando Regiment on June 19.

The two-day battle that began on June 10 came after months of careful planning and so much consultation with locals that the military planners had "tea pouring out of their eyes".

According to the Defence citation supporting document, the talking was followed throughout May by "a series of daring daylight helicopter raids deep into enemy territory designed to destabilise the local insurgent networks and to identify and draw in as many of the regions Taliban's commanders as possible".

That day, Alpha Company commando group moved in to establish attack positions inside the area used as a Taliban supply route to Kandahar.

Just after dawn, they found themselves surrounded by the enemy. They spent most of the day under sustained and heavy attack but eventually forced the insurgents to retreat to the nearby village of Tizak.

The next day a troop from the 2nd Squadron SAS was deployed by helicopter around Tizak on a kill or capture mission to hunt down the Taliban and their leaders; they were outnumbered four to one and immediately met fierce resistance.

According to the operation's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Burns: "All they could do was crawl into a position so they didn't die – the amount of time the guys said: 'I was digging a hole with my eyelids' articulates the environment they were in".

Eventually, though, the SAS troops did manage to overrun the enemy machine gun positions and force a retreat of the Taliban from the region.

A significant number of fighters, and, more importantly, Taliban commanders were killed.

In fact, so many commanders were killed that according to General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) at the time, the impact was felt across Afghanistan.

The battle of Shah Wali Kot is now set to become part of Australian military legend. It will sit in the Afghanistan campaign much as the Battle of Long Tan resonates through the conflict in Vietnam.